Chile deputies vote to restrict tax systems for unauthorized betting sites
The amendment would bar the tax authority from spending resources on declaration and payment systems for unauthorized operators. It now goes to the Senate.
Key points
- The Chamber of Deputies approved the amendment by 133 votes to two, with one abstention.
- The measure would restrict SII resources but would not expressly remove operators' tax obligations.
- Foreign gambling providers were brought into Chile's digital VAT system in June.
- The amendment must be considered by the Senate and is not yet law.
Chile’s Chamber of Deputies approved a 2027 budget amendment on 10 November that would restrict the tax authority’s ability to administer payment systems for unauthorized online betting platforms.
The proposal passed with 133 votes in favor, two against and one abstention, iGaming Business reported. It would prevent the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) from using resources to implement or administer tax declaration and payment mechanisms for those platforms and other activities unauthorized in Chile.
Unión Demócrata Independiente (UDI) deputy Eduardo Cretton introduced the amendment during review of the Ministry of Finance budget. The Chamber’s Secretariat initially found it inadmissible on constitutional grounds, but lawmakers overturned that ruling before voting on the proposal.
The provision concerns spending on tax systems; it does not expressly eliminate the platforms’ underlying tax obligations. The Senate must consider the amendment as part of the 2027 Budget Bill, and its wording may change during the legislative process.
Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz entered a constitutional reservation, leaving open the possibility of a challenge to the amendment’s inclusion in the Budget Law.
The vote follows an SII decision to bring foreign online betting and gambling providers without a domicile or residence in Chile into the simplified digital VAT system. Resolution 69, dated 2 June 2026 and announced on 3 June, established the mechanism. Chile’s standard VAT rate is 19%.
The resolution also required registered platforms to pay outstanding VAT on services provided during the previous 36 tax periods. Some lawmakers criticized the policy over concerns that tax collection could lend legitimacy to unauthorized services.
Chile’s Supreme Court ruled in 2025 that online betting platforms operating in the country were illegal. SII director Jorge Trujillo defended the tax measure before the Senate’s Economy Committee in June, saying taxable transactions still required compliance with tax obligations. The authority said payment did not authorize the platforms or regularize their status.
Sources
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